Sir Alex said Ferdinand would have to adapt his game to continue to play at the top level.

And rather than sulk, the defender-turned TV pundit insists he handled the criticism in the right way.

Ferdinand told BT Sport: “The boss said I had to change my game and I had lost my pace etc. You just go back to the drawing board and say ‘ok, certain parts of my game I'm going to change a little bit’.

Change with the times: Rio Ferdinand had to adapt his game (Image: Getty)

“He said it publicly after the game we lost to City. My confidence went through the floor for a day or two, but then you sit there and say ‘what are you going to do? Sink or swim’.

“I wanted to fight. I thought I was still still good enough. I thought I had the ability to play, and so I got back to the drawing board and trained hard and worked on my game.